Guoen Temple is composed of buildings such as the Banshan Pavilion, the Mountain Gate Archway, the King Kong Palace, the Daxiong Palace, the Six Ancestors Palace, the Abbot's Room, the Corridor on both sides has the Buddha Hall of the Heavens, the Zen Room, the Guanyin Hall, the Six Ancestors Memorial Hall, the Five Hundred Arhat Hall, the Bao'en Tower and other buildings, the main entrance of the temple hangs the handwritten imperial pen of Tang Zhongzong Li Xian: "The Edict of the National Grace Temple" inscription plaque, giving people the atmosphere, the noble atmosphere, the Guoen Temple with the national name; The mountain gate archway is written on the three big characters of "the first place", and the door is "the first to know the mountain first, and the entrance is unparalleled". It gives people a flash of inspiration in their minds, and the feeling of "thinking about thousands of years and seeing thousands of miles".

Throughout the Guoen Temple, the temple hall is built by the mountain, scattered and scattered, each with its own characteristics and is integrated.

Guoen Temple is backed by Longshan, so it is also called "Longshan Temple". The west of the mountain gate of Guoen Temple, in front of the square of the main gate of the temple is a lotus pond like a golden bottle, the lotus flower that reflects the sun, and the red is different; A 10-meter-long dragon leaps horizontally, the momentum is pressing, a pair of dragons snatch the treasure of the three-dimensional carving, standing on the high wall in front of the temple nearly 100 meters long, the momentum is magnificent. After the ingenuity of the decoration, the temple is exquisite, the layout is spectacular, the construction area is more than 10,000 square meters;

The main body of the temple is a platform made of three-level horizontal rectangular boulders of the doukan type to construct the temple, and the height increases according to the mountain. It is divided into three entrances, namely the Tianwang Palace, the Daxiong Treasure Palace, and the Six Ancestors Palace. On both sides, there are Bodhidharma Patriarch, Jizo King Bodhisattva, Dashi Zhi Bodhisattva, Manjushri, Fuxian Bodhisattva and other Buddha halls and meditation rooms, and there are buildings such as Guanyin Hall and Bao'en Tower on the side of the temple.

Guoen Temple is a famous temple in Lingnan that integrates the essence of Tang Dynasty architectural art, backed by green mountains, facing the Luxi wilderness, where the forests are verdant, surrounded by distant mountains, birds and flowers, and the environment is quiet.

The dragon mountain where the Guoen Temple is located, the local people call it "the robe mountain", there are three peaks on the ridge, people call it "the three treasure tops", there is a mountain range that winds down from the "treasure peak", the shape is like a swimming dragon, the national grace temple is built in the "dragon head", the altitude is 164 meters, so it is also called "the dragon mountain temple".

Longshan, the mountain is not high and Zhong Lingyu is beautiful, Luxi River, the water is not deep and clear and clear, which makes people feel the clarity of the river water and the verdant green mountains, all of which make people feel more the shortness, preciousness and beauty of life.

Stepping into the archway of the mountain gate, only to see the three big characters of "the first place" on the archway, the door is "the first to know the mountain first, and the entrance is unparalleled". My mind flashed into me, and I seemed to have the feeling of "thinking about a thousand years and seeing thousands of miles".

Passing through the archway of the mountain gate, there is the square in front of the gate of Kokuenji Temple. The grass and trees in the field are green, the sound of water is murmuring, and among the Bodhi leaves that have grown green, there are already wishing stickers of good men and women, and the incense burner of the pagoda is full of smoke......

Longshan was originally a famous mountain, and there was already a Guoen Temple on the mountain, since the moment when the six ancestors of Zen Buddhism Hui Neng opened the altar to say the Dharma, it became the place where the six ancestors Hui Neng created the dojo to spread the Dharma, known as "the birthplace of Chinese Zen Buddhism" and "the first holy area in Lingnan", and later there were Japanese monks who called it "the ancestral garden of the ancestral garden".

Guoen Temple is built on the mountain, the scale is large, the layout is strict, the buildings are connected as a whole, and it is faintly in the valley and dense forest of Longshan...... The majestic Longshan Mountain, with its static solemnity to curb the pursuit of lust, symbolizes the regeneration and baptism of the human soul with its zen machine of loud voice.

……

As soon as the next day dawned, the people of the Six Ancestral Townships came to the hall of Guoen Temple early.

"When-when-when-", the morning bell rang, at this time in the hall, the red candles were burning, the cigarettes were wisps, the Buddha's light was shining, and the Sanskrit sound was singing.

The sun of the rising sun shines, and the solemn and majestic hall is filled with a cordial and harmonious atmosphere today. Bursts of elegant Sanskrit sounds lingered in the main hall, swirling between heaven and earth.

In the main hall, hundreds of oil lamps are lit together, and in the sandalwood incense, the golden statue of Buddha Shakyamuni on the Buddhist altar is smiling happily, holy and kind. Kneeling in front of the Buddha statue are the pious villagers of the six ancestors.

"Folks, what's wrong with you? What are you doing on your knees one by one? Hurry up. Under the guidance of the Shenhui and Fahai, the Sixth Ancestor Hui Neng came out of the abbot's room, staggered towards the hall, bent down to help the villagers in front of him, and cordially greeted the villagers and saluted!

In the sound of cordial greetings, Shenhui and Fahai led the six ancestors Huineng to the hall.

On the big red throne of the pulpit, the Sixth Patriarch Huineng did not wear the robe that radiated wonderful brilliance and was handed down by the ancestors of the past generations, but wore an ordinary monk's robe, which made it more cordial and peaceful.

The Sixth Ancestor Hui Neng sat cross-legged on the futon. Since then, the wanderer who has been wandering for most of his life has finally returned to his hometown, and finally met with the villagers and fathers, and gathered together!

Facing the villagers under the palace, the sixth ancestor Huineng burst into tears, and in the blurred tears, his mother's kindness, his father's pain, the paparazzi who grew up playing sand pot and went up the mountain to collect firewood together, Wen Zai, Xiaolan, the kind villagers, and the back of the five ancestors...... Scenes passed before his eyes......

After a long time, the sixth ancestor Huineng calmed down and looked at the villagers under the hall affectionately, at this moment, he had many, many things to say to the villagers. But I don't know where to start...... A thousand words turned into one sentence: "Hello folks! ”

As soon as the Sixth Ancestor Huineng's words fell, thunderous applause rang out in the hall.

"Hello, Sixth Ancestor Master Huineng!" The villagers excitedly said in unison.

The Sixth Patriarch Huineng stood up amid warm applause, folded his hands, bowed to the stage, and then sat back on the futon, and began to say to the villagers the Zen Zen he advocated—"The Zen of Zen Buddhism and the Zen of the six paramitas are the same thing, and they are two separate things; It can be said to be the same thing as the Zen of the Four Meditations and the Eight Meditations, but it is different. As we all know, Zen Buddhism has four aphorisms, which are called "don't pass on outside the teachings", do not set up words, point directly to people's hearts, and become a Buddha by seeing nature. Since it is not taught outside the church, and there is no written language, and language should also be swept away, then why should it be spoken? Because without the help of words and writing, it is very difficult to enter Zen, and you cannot enter it. So, here, I have an explanation, the so-called non-writing does not mean not using words. The straight road does not stand words, that is, these two words are not standing, and they are also words. Therefore, those who do not set up words are not attached to words, but they cannot leave words, and they still have to use language and words as the finger of the moon, because they see the moon and forget to refer to the moon, which is the function of language. ”

After making a concise opening statement of "Zen Zen", the Sixth Patriarch Huineng cut into the topic of the origin of Zen:

First, let me talk about the origins of Zen. Of course, this issue can only be discussed simply, not in depth. If we want to expand on it, I can't explain the origin of Zen for a few days and nights. At the same time, it is a more academic approach like that, which is not suitable for an occasion like ours.

Regarding the origin of Zen, I would like to explain it in two points: one in India and the other in China.

As you know, in India, the origin of Zen is that when the Buddha reached Nirvana in his old age, one day he would show flowers to the public at the Lingshan Meeting, and millions of people did not know what his intention was. At this moment, only Venerable Kasa was smiling. At this time, the Buddha said, "I have the Dharma Eye, the Nirvana Mind, the Reality without Appearance, the Subtle Method, I don't set up words, I don't teach outside the teachings, and I give instructions to the Mahakalpa." "This is the origin of what Zen Buddhism calls Zen.

Of course, the intention of this public case is only to put forward the fact that Zen is "not to be transmitted outside the teaching, not to set up words, to point directly to the hearts of the people, and to become a Buddha by seeing nature", and it cannot be viewed from the perspective of our current history and research. Whether there is such a thing or not, whether it is history or legend, has nothing to do with Zen. Because what Zen wants to explain is neither history nor legends, and even history cannot explain Zen. Therefore, the public case of the Buddha throwing flowers to show the public at the Lingshan meeting is the origin of Zen in India. His Holiness Mahakalsa was the first ancestor of Western Heavenly Zen and was passed down to the twenty-eighth ancestor of Bodhidharma.

Bodhidharma came to China to preach the Dharma, he was not only the twenty-eighth ancestor of the Western Heavens, but also the first ancestor of China, and his transmission of the Dharma went through many ups and downs. When Master Bodhidharma came to China, it was a period when the doctrine of Chinese Buddhism was prevalent, and the scale of the doctrine was basically there. In such an environment, it is quite difficult for Master Bodhidharma to come to China to preach the Zen method of "not teaching outside the teachings and not establishing words". When Patriarch Bodhidharma arrived in Nanjing, he had a Q&A with Emperor Wu of Liang, but they could not understand each other tacitly. So he had no choice but to say goodbye to Jinling and follow the route to Chang'an to Songshan, Henan. There, facing the wall for nine years, waiting for someone to come. From the simple fact that nine years have been facing the wall, you can think of the difficulty of promoting the Zen method at that time.

After nine years, only one of the two ancestors of Shenguang went to Songshan to rely on the Dharma Zen Master and seek peace of mind. Shenguang was later called Hui Ke, and Bodhidharma changed his name. I believe everyone is familiar with this public case, so I won't take up too much time to talk about it.

Hui Ke received the method of peace of mind from Bodhidharma, which was the beginning of Chinese Zen Buddhism, and it took more than 200 years to reach me.

In the past, I used to pass on one person to another, the so-called six generations to pass on the lamp, and these six generations were basically single. Why a single pass? It's not that I don't want to spread more, but it's hard to find people. Among them, from the second ancestor to the third ancestor and the fourth ancestor, there are very few people who believe in it. The fourth ancestor is the Taoist master of Huangmei Shuangfeng Mountain. It's a very nice place, it's a place where people come out. It was only from the beginning of the Four Ancestors that a dojo was opened and a base for Dharma transmission was established. The four ancestors are "open Zen doors and wide access to disciples". That is to say, when Zen Buddhism reached the Four Ancestors, it really opened up the situation gradually. Starting from the Four Patriarchs, not only did he open up the situation by teaching the Fa, but in terms of living resources, he also found another way, cultivating and feeding himself, and supporting himself by himself, so that he could truly get out of the predicament of teaching the Fa.

It can be seen from this that the vast number of believers' resources at that time were under the control of the teachers who propagated the teachings, and the method of transmitting the heart was not accepted by many people at that time. Without the resources of the believers, life must be very difficult. What if begging for food doesn't work in China, and there are no resources for believers? In the mountains, you can only cultivate and feed yourself.

The dojo of the four ancestors claims to have 1,500 people, who open their own fields, grow their own food, and make their own living. Since then, the four ancestors have passed on the five ancestors, and the five ancestors have passed on the six ancestors, which really made Zen Buddhism blossom in China.

The origin of Chinese Zen Buddhism is roughly as follows: Bodhidharma Patriarch started its beginning, the second and third ancestors inherited its thread, and the fourth, fifth, and sixth ancestors officially created a scale. After the Six Patriarchs, Zen Buddhism was widely developed, during which it went through more than 200 years of arduous teaching. The origins of Zen Buddhism in China are roughly like this.